Cardfight! Vanguard: Shattered Memories
by Bja1thetruth
Summary: In this World, memories have the power to influence growth in its people for better or worse. Can five people of different backgrounds give each other the strength necessary to overcome any obstacle? This story contains OCs, disclaimer inside.
1. Chapter 1: The True Meaning of Defeat

**Author's Note**

Hello, this is Bja1thetruth also known as Apollo and/or Tolby. I would like to note that this would be my first (technically second) attempt at writing a fan-fiction. I already know there will be multiple mistakes, but I will still try my best. The setting and characters I use will be different from the Anime and Manga. The setting is something _entirely_ made-up and every character will be an original character. Most of the cards I will use will most likely be from Set 5 Awakening of Twin Blades and prior. However, I will also use a few cards up to Set 7 Ramping Beast King and possibly two or three cards from Set 8 Blue Storm Armada. The reason is to minimize the number of possible cards I create for an already existing clan. Adding to the topic of card creation, I will indeed be using fan-made clans/cards. If you for some reason see this as a problem I do apologize, but this is something I had planned for _a while_ and I would like to keep the general base the same. Finally, if you have any suggestions or criticism I am willing to consider them.

I do not own Cardfight! Vanguard, it belongs to its own rightful owner(s). This is/was written only for entertainment purposes. Please Enjoy :3

* * *

**~Chapter 1: The True Meaning of Defeat~**

_**In a World of Darkness, the sounds of cackling and the roars of savage beasts shatter the silence. Attempting to move about, you notice your limbs remain bound by some unknown force hindering the action. Giving up the futile endeavor, you watch as a dark mass begins to erect from the ground before you. After adopting a different form, it now resembled a blonde-haired doll with vacant, soulless eyes. At her feet, you notice a woman who had long, flowing hair and displayed a gentle expression. Relaying her command to the doll, the doll slowly began to descend one of its hands over your trapped form. Struggling once more to escape, the futile endeavor only made the cackling grow louder as you had no choice but to accept your fate.**_

_A sleeping person slowly began to rustle around as they groggily awoke from their dream. After propping himself up, he glanced a short distance away towards his mirror only to witness his ragged appearance. His short, dark hair was mess most likely from tossing and turning about and his brown eyes were drooping from lack of sleep. _

_After shifting his attention from his appearance, he began to think about the dream he had. Similar dreams just like it occurred in the past but something about this one seemed a little different to him. An image of the woman he saw briefly flashed across his mind, she had been the cause of the difference he felt and for reasons unknown, he could feel a sense of familiarity from her. Suddenly, the sound of an alert interrupted his thoughts as the sound continued to fill his room, it had been his phone alerting him of a message.__Reaching over to where it had stored, he noticed the sender had been his friend Kotaro informing him of the card shop they would visit and at what time. Now that he had forcibly pried himself from his bed, he went about to get ready for the day ahead. A short while later he was now fully dressed wearing a green t-shirt with black jeans. Deciding to waste no further time, he departed for his destination._

* * *

_It had been quite some time since his departure and since he was unfamiliar with the area, he had arrived later than expected. "Card Shop Raven…" He recited to himself after glancing at the name of his destination. Just like any other shop, there did not appear to be any real difference that he noticed while inspecting it. Most shops had the same overall appearance be it the overall structure or the various advertisement posters. Glancing around the area now, he saw the multitude of people going about their business pretty much ignoring everything around them. It was now that he realized his friend was nowhere in sight something he found strange since his friend was usually the first to arrive between the two._

"Excuse me, but may I be of assistance somehow?" Turning towards the sudden voice, a petite woman with long, flowing, crimson hair, wearing a white blouse with a blue skirt met his gaze. She was a few years older than he was and was displaying a gentle expression while her blue eyes bestowed a sense of sincerity. Her sudden appearance came as a shock to him since he was sure that while looking around she had been nowhere in sight, and so he wondered where exactly she had come from. "Looking around I thought you were lost or confused so I was wondering if I could be of assistance somehow."

"_I guess just by standing around and looking all over the place that kind of impression should be expected."_ He explained how he had only just arrived and that was only looking around for a friend that he was supposed to meet.

"I apologize for jumping to conclusions," She nodded in apology having misunderstood his situation. "Let me introduce myself, my name is Irene Melody, sub-manager and teacher of Card Shop Raven. If there is anything you need assistance with in the future, please do not hesitate to ask." She displayed a smile before nodding again. "If you are going to be a future customer of ours, may I learn your name for convenience's sake?"

He took some time to think about the question before answering. "Tolby Gale" The woman repeated before smiling once again. "Thank you for telling me, now if you will please excuse me it is almost time for my lesson to begin." He watched as she quickly hurried past him into the shop with the door closing behind her. Now that he was alone, he began to piece together exactly what had just happened. Besides her sudden appearance, there was, however, one other thing that he found strange even though they had just met, he could not shake the feeling of having met her before this moment.

"Tolby!" He heard someone call from a distance before noticing it was his friend. He was a teen around his age though slightly taller, he had silver hair with yellow eyes, and wore a white collared shirt with a black blazer and matching jeans. "Sorry about not showing up sooner." He apologized for having shown-up late.

"It's okay Kotaro, I only arrived a short while ago myself, besides, I'm the one who is usually late even more than this," He replied before they decided to step into the shop.

"You do have a point though unlike you my perfect record has finally been broken," He said as the door closed behind them.

The inside was surprisingly cool rather refreshing in comparison to outside. There were a few posters hung all over advertising popular games, players occupied a few tables, and some had a few spectators watching. The manager, of course, was at the counter working, he was a heavily dressed man with dark glasses hiding his eyes. He glanced in their direction and appeared to give a silent greeting before returning to his work. A fair distance away, Tolby spotted Irene in front of a blackboard with a mass of kids sitting in front of her. The blackboard had all sorts of notes and diagrams transcribed on it, and from the looks of it, they appeared to about Vanguard.

"_She really is a teacher after all," _He thought to himself.

Kotaro also noticed the class and found it interesting. He noticed Tolby was also staring in that direction as well and wondered if he thought about joining. With that thought in mind, he decided to drag Tolby to a table that was a fair distance from the class so they could listen and not be a disturbance. After completing their preparations, they were now ready to begin their game.

* * *

_Their game did not last as long as expected and before they knew it, a series of games took place where the result had been the same each time. Almost every game concluded with Kotaro's victory, mostly due to Tolby's attention seemingly being elsewhere. With another game having concluded once again with the same result, Kotaro noticed Irene's lesson was drawing to close. _

"Was the lesson interesting?" He asked receiving only a confused look from Tolby. "After the games we played I can already tell your attention was elsewhere also I noticed you secretly glancing away every now and then."

"You're only half right," Tolby responded.

As the two carried on with their conversation Irene's lesson had just reached its conclusion. Most of her students displayed confused expressions not entirely understanding what it was she taught them. She noticed their confusion and smiled after thinking of a solution. "Perhaps a demonstration would be better for those that could not fully understand my explanations."

Kotaro overheard what Irene had said and figured it would be a good change of pace for a certain someone. After raising one of his hands, he called out to Irene trying to get her attention. Irene heard a voice call her and glanced in that direction. She spotted Tolby and someone she assumed was the friend he had been waiting for.

Now that he had Irene's attention, "Tolby here would love to volunteer for your demonstration," He happily announced much to Tolby's dismay.

"Quite the bit of irony, I told you to come to me for assistance, but now I am the one in need of your assistance." She smiled before gesturing Tolby to step forward towards the class.

Tolby only turned towards Kotaro his eyes staring daggers while his friend displayed a grin. "Refresh my memory, when exactly did I volunteer myself?" The annoyance in his voice was painfully obvious.

"I seem to be the only person you play nowadays, you need to go out there and expand your horizon by playing new people. Besides, with how much you were paying attention you might as well help your fellow pupils better understand the game." Despite the annoyance, Tolby could only sigh in response. He knew there was no easy way out of this so he stepped forward hoping to get this over as quickly as possible.

Now that her opponent was standing before her, Irene pressed a button on the side of the blackboard. Slowing rising from the floor was another table that apparently was stored below. This one, however, appeared to be more high-tech in comparison to the others. Irene then pressed another button this time on the table causing it to power-on and project some sort of image. The projection displayed the interior of a circus tent, strewn about on the ground were various props, some of which had odd colored blotches most likely from a previous performance.

"Are you familiar with the motion figure system?" Irene asked while taking her place at the table and placing a card facedown.

"I never had the opportunity to use one before," He replied while repeating Irene's actions.

"You should be proud then, we normally only use it for promotional events and occasionally my lessons," She explained before they got ready to begin.

"Stand up, Vanguard!" The two shouted in unison as the cards they turned over were beginning to take form at the center of the battlefield.

"Lark Pigeon" Irene's field was suddenly shrouded by a burst of smoke, emerging from it was a man with a pigeon-like appearance wearing a suit. After circling the field once, he made his descent (G0/Power: 5000).

"Snow Nymph, Chione" Shards of ice began to cluster together on Tolby's field, taking on a new form it now resembled a woman with long, light-blue hair. She had fairy-like wings and wore a blue dress with ruffles in the appearance of snow (G0/Power: 5000).

Amazed by the appearance of the unit most of the kids displayed signs of admiration since it had an unfamiliar one to them. Irene also had her own interest in the unit. "How interesting, I do not recall ever having seen that unit," Irene said curiously.

"I'm not surprised," Tolby replied, "I have yet to meet a single person that knew about the existence of Northern Aurora."

"If you have not met a person that knew about their existence then may I ask where exactly you obtained them?" Irene asked interested in learning a little more about her opponent.

"I'm afraid I can't answer that even if I wanted to." Tolby replied while appearing upset, "I can't remember where or when I managed to obtain them exactly."

This reply was certainly something Irene had not been expecting, to own something and not know where or how it came into your possession seemed strange to her. She hoped to learn a little more but gave up on the effort deciding it would be best to resume the match at hand.

"_I guess we're in the same boat,"_ He thought while glancing at Irene's Vanguard and drawing his card."I ride Ice Flower, Maka." The woman closed her eyes as shards of ice began to cluster around her form. Standing in her place was a dark-haired girl dressed in azure clothing (G1/Power: 8000). "Now, Chione's Forerunner ability activates, because I rode a Northern Aurora unit, I can now call her to a rear-guard circle." Sliding the card behind his Vanguard, the woman from earlier appeared in similar fashion to her first appearance (G0/Power: 5000).

"I end my turn," Tolby concluded.

**Field View**

Irene  
Hand: 5 Cards/Soul: 0 Cards/Damage: 0/Drop Zone: 0 Cards/Deck: 44 Cards  
Right Side: Nothing – Nothing  
Center: **Lark Pigeon (G0/Power: 5000) **– Nothing  
Left Side: Nothing – Nothing

Tolby  
Hand: 5 Cards/Soul: 0 Cards/Damage: 0/Drop Zone: 0 Cards/Deck: 43 Cards  
Right Side: Nothing – Nothing  
Center: **IF Maka (G1/Power: 8000**) – SN Chione (G0/Power: 5000)  
Left Side: Nothing – Nothing

"My turn," Irene declared adding a new card to her hand, "I ride Dark Metal Bicorn." A sudden burst of smoke shrouded the pigeon man's form, trotting out instead was a grey ram adorned in golden ornaments (G1/Power: 8000).

"Moving on, Dark Metal Bicorn attacks." Dashing forward the ram made way towards the girl (Power: 8000/Critical: 1). Tolby made no effort to guard the attack so Irene continued with her drive check.

"Drive Check: [Dusk Illusionist Robert – No Trigger]" The ram continued its attack, knocking the girl back slightly.

With the attack having succeeded, Tolby had to respond by performing a damage check. "Damage Check: [Blizzard Tori – No Trigger]" After revealing the card he placed it into his damage zone.

"My turn is done," Irene concluded.

**Field View**

Irene  
Hand: 6 Cards/Soul: 1 Card/Damage: 0/Drop Zone: 0 Cards/Deck: 42 Cards  
Right Side: Nothing – Nothing  
Center: **DM Bicorn (G1/Power: 8000) **– Nothing  
Left Side: Nothing – Nothing

Tolby  
Hand: 5 Cards/Soul: 0 Cards/Damage: 1(U)/Drop Zone: 0 Cards/Deck: 42 Cards  
Right Side: Nothing – Nothing  
Center: **IF Maka (G1/Power: 8000**) – SN Chione (G0/Power: 5000)  
Left Side: Nothing – Nothing

"Draw," Tolby declared before playing his next card, "I ride Blizzard Mage." The girl closed her eyes as shards of ice clustered around her form. A light-blue artificial being dressed like a magician stood in her place, a spell book hovered above its left hand while it held staff in the other (G2/Power: 9000).

"I'll also call Hail Striker and Crystal Lancer." Shards of ice began to cluster together at two points on Tolby's field. The first resembled a golem made of entirely ice dressed in brown ravaged clothes (G2/Power: 8000). The other resembled a red caped-knight clad in ice-like armor (G2/Power: 10000).

"Hail Striker will attack, but first his ability activates. When he attacks a unit with 8000 power or less, he gains 3000 power until the end of that battle." Leaping into the air, the ice golem dive-bombed towards the ram (Power: 11000/Critical: 1). Irene only shook her head in response as its attack continued on to knock the ram to ground upon impact.

"Damage Check: [Jumping Jill – No Trigger]" She revealed before placing the card into her damage zone.

"Blizzard Mage with a boost from Chione will attack this time." The woman closed her eyes as energy became to gather around the magician, raising its staff, a blizzard was conjured in the direction of the ram (Power: 14000/Critical: 1).

Irene once again shook her head allowing Tolby to perform a drive check of his own. "Drive Check: [Eternal Pixie – No Trigger]" The blizzard continued on its course engulfing the ram.

Irene proceeded to perform her damage check, but unlike the previous four, this card held a golden shimmer. "Damage Check: [Rainbow Magician – Draw Trigger] It would appear I got a trigger. I increase the power of Dark Metal Bicorn and then I can draw a new card." After adding the new card to her hand, the ram slowly rose as its eyes glowed red (Power: 13000). Irene glanced at Chione then shifted her gaze towards Crystal Lancer. It was only remaining card capable of attacking but lacked the power needed to succeed. "If only you had attacked with Crystal Lancer first then you would have gotten a third attack this turn," She said after comparing the power between her Vanguard and his rear-guard.

"I'm afraid that you're wrong." This time Tolby was the one who shook his head in response. "You allowed an attack boosted by Chione to hit your Vanguard, so now her ability can activate. Paying the cost of a counterblast, I can move her to my soul, and have your Vanguard lose 3000 power until the end of this turn." Turning over the only card in his damage zone, and sliding Chione beneath his Vanguard, the woman closed her eyes as her form shattered into shards of ice that then coated the ram's form (Power: 10000).

"So your deck focuses on reducing the power of those who oppose it, how interesting," Irene smiled as Tolby continued.

"Next, I activate Blizzard Mage's ability, because its attack hit your Vanguard, I choose one card in my damage zone, and turn it face-up." After his explanation, he quickly turned over the card in his damage zone.

"Finally, Crystal Lancer will attack." The ice knight held out its left hand as shards of ice began to cluster together until they formed a lance, it then leapt forward ready to strike its target (Power: 10000/Critical: 1). A burst of water rushed forward pushing back the ice knight before it could reach its target. The source of the attack was a man dressed like a jester with water swirling around him (Shield: 5000).

"I am afraid I could not allow this attack to succeed, so I hope you do not mind that I decided to guard with Spiral Master," Irene responded while placing the card into her drop zone.

"I guess my turn ends then," Tolby concluded as the ice coating the ram vanished (Power: 8000).

**Field View**

Irene  
Hand: 6 Cards/Soul: 1 Card/Damage: 2(U)/Drop Zone: 1 Card/Deck: 39 Cards  
Right Side: Nothing – Nothing  
Center: **DM Bicorn (G1/Power: 8000) **– Nothing  
Left Side: Nothing – Nothing

Tolby  
Hand: 4 Cards/Soul: 2 Cards/Damage: 1(U)/Drop Zone: 0 Cards/Deck: 40 Cards  
Right Side: Crystal Lancer (G2/Power: 10000) – Nothing  
Center: **Blizzard Mage (G2/Power: 9000**) – Nothing  
Left Side: Hail Striker (G2/Power: 8000) – Nothing

_"He's not doing that bad, though it's still too soon to say whether or not he really has the advantage," _Kotaro thought as Irene drew her card.

"I ride Barking Cerberus." A sudden burst of smoke shrouded the ram's form, with a mixture of growls and cackling, a three-headed dog with the appearance of a clown emerged (G2/Power: 10000).

"Next, I call Starting Presenter, Mirror Demon, and Midnight Bunny." The ground around Irene's field became shrouded by a sudden of smoke, as it dispersed three figures were unveiled. A caped-man wearing a suit (G1/Power: 6000), a strange looking mirror with a rippling surface (G2/Power: 8000), and a pink bunny girl dressed like a magician's assistant (G1/Power: 7000).

"Barking Cerberus with a boost from Starting Presenter will attack your Vanguard." The man raised one of his arms commanding the dog forward as energy began to gather around it, pouncing forward it was now heading towards the magician (Power: 16000/Critical: 1).

"No Guard," Tolby responded, prompting Irene to continue.

"Drive Check: [Nightmare Doll, Alice – No Trigger]" The dog continued its pounce, eventually, crashing into the magician.

"Damage Check: [Frost Giant – No Trigger]" Tolby then placed the revealed card into his damage zone.

"Mirror Demon with a boost from Midnight Bunny will attack your Vanguard as well." The bunny girl began to cheer as energy poured into the rippling surface of the mirror, emerging from it was a purple-winged demon dressed in orange and yellow clothing. With great speed it left its shelter racing towards the magician (Power: 15000/Critical: 1). Upon, reaching the magician, the demon then jabbed one of its claws into the magician's body before swiftly scurrying back to its domain.

"Damage Check: [Arctic Wolf – Critical Trigger]" Tolby grimaced as the card he revealed held a golden shimmer but with its appearance being after Irene's final attack the effects were useless.

"With that, my turn is done," Irene concluded.

**Field View**

Irene  
Hand: 4 Cards/Soul: 2 Cards/Damage: 2(U)/Drop Zone: 1 Card/Deck: 37 Cards  
Right Side: Nothing – Nothing  
Center: **B Cerberus (G2/Power: 10000) **– Starting Presenter (G1/Power: 6000)  
Left Side: Mirror Demon (G2/Power: 8000) – Midnight Bunny (G1/Power: 7000)

Tolby  
Hand: 4 Cards/Soul: 2 Cards/Damage: 3(U)/Drop Zone: 0 Cards/Deck: 38 Cards  
Right Side: Crystal Lancer (G2/Power: 10000) – Nothing  
Center: **Blizzard Mage (G2/Power: 9000**) – Nothing  
Left Side: Hail Striker (G2/Power: 8000) – Nothing

"I stand and draw," Tolby declared, upon noticing the card he drew he displayed a slight smile before swiftly playing it. "Abrasive snowflake that descends from the aurora, unleash your fury upon those who tarnish it. I ride Deity of the Snow, Yukina!" He recited as shards of ice began to cluster around the magician, in its place stood a pale maiden. She had short, white hair and wore a headdress covering the entirely of her face with the exception of one of her red eyes (G3/Power: 10000).

"_That card…" _Irene silently thought as Tolby continued.

"Next, I'll call Eternal Pixie and Blizzard Tori." Shards of ice began to cluster together at two points on Tolby's field. The first resembled a blue-haired snow pixie she had six icicle-like wings and wore a blue gown (G1/Power: 5000). The other resembled a pale-blue bird with armor on its chest and talons, its wing tips were icicles, and its tail feather flared with a light-blue haze (G1/Power: 7000).

"Both of my new units have abilities that can be activated, so first up is Eternal Pixie. Paying the cost of two soul blasts, I can draw a card." Taking two cards from beneath his Vanguard, he placed them into his drop zone before drawing a card. "Blizzard Tori's ability is a little similar to Chione's. Paying the cost of two counterblasts, your Vanguard loses 3000 Power until the end of this turn." After turning over two cards in his damage zone, the snowbird shrieked before conjuring a blizzard after flapping its wings, the blizzard engulfed the dog coating its form in ice (Power: 7000).

"_After that last move things appear to be in his favor. Hail Striker's ability can activate no matter the target and now the difference in power between our Vanguards is at a point where more cards than previously needed are required to guard. He is slowly trying to cripple my defenses to gain the advantage," _Irene thought with a smile.

"Hail Striker will attack Mirror Demon." Repeating the same tactic, the ice golem took to the air before diving towards the mirror, upon impact the mirror shattered from the force of the collision (Power: 11000).

"Yukina with a boost from Blizzard Tori will attack your Vanguard." The snowbird shrieked as energy began to gather around the snow maiden, raising her left hand she conjured a blizzard in the direction of the dog (Power: 17000/Critical: 1).

Irene had decided to allow the attack to connect so Tolby continued. "Twin Drive First Check: [Ice Flower, Maka]" Since the first card gave no chance of altering the situation he promptly proceeded with his second check. "Second Check [Crystal Mammoth – No Trigger]" The second card had not brought forth any kind of change just as the first. Meanwhile, the blizzard continued on course towards the dog engulfing it.

"Damage Check: [Purple Trapezist – No Trigger]" Irene placed the card into her damage zone.

"Crystal Lacer with a boost from Eternal Pixie will attack your Vanguard as well." The snow pixie gave a boastful laugh as energy began to gather around the ice knight, leaping forward, it struck the dog with its lance.

"Damage Check: [Nitro Juggler – No Trigger]" Irene placed the second card into her drop zone.

"I end my turn," Tolby concluded as the ice coating the dog vanished (Power: 10000).

**Field View**

Irene  
Hand: 4 Cards/Soul: 2 Cards/Damage: 4(U)/Drop Zone: 2 Cards/Deck: 35 Cards  
Right Side: Nothing – Nothing  
Center: **B Cerberus (G2/Power: 10000) **– Starting Presenter (G1/Power: 6000)  
Left Side: Nothing – Midnight Bunny (G1/Power: 7000)

Tolby  
Hand: 5 Cards/Soul: 1 Card/Damage: 1(U)-2(F)/Drop Zone: 2 Cards/Deck: 34 Cards  
Right Side: Crystal Lancer (G2/Power: 10000) – Eternal Pixie (G1/Power: 5000)  
Center: **DotS Yukina (G3/Power: 10000**) – Blizzard Tori (G1/Power: 7000)  
Left Side: Hail Striker (G2/Power: 8000) – Nothing

"Stand and draw," Irene declared before swiftly plucking a card from her hand. "The illusion shrouded in mystery. I ride Dusk Illusionist, Robert!" She recited as smoke began to shroud the dog, at the snap of a finger the smoke slowly vanished unveiling a figure. It was an orange-haired man wearing a bi-patterned suit. The left side had a checker pattern while the right side had a diamond pattern. Placing his white top hat upon his head, he gave a bow ready for his performance (G3/Power: 10000).

"Now that my main phase has begun, Robert's effect now activates. By soul charging one card, I get the opportunity to look at the top card of my deck, then I can choose whether it remains at the top or gets sent to the bottom." Swiftly sliding the top card of her deck beneath her Vanguard, Irene glanced at the next card, and with a smile, she placed it back on the top of her deck.

"Moving on, I call Nightmare Doll, Alice, Nitro Juggler, and Skull Juggler." Similar to before, shrouding Irene's field had been a sudden burst of smoke. Rising, from the ground was a towering doll with vacant, emotionless eyes, she wore a red and white dress, and had long, blonde hair tied into a ponytail (G3/Power: 10000). On the ground was a puppet dressed in a white suit with a matching top hat, between each of its fingers were test-tubes filled with a bubbling, green liquid (G2/Power: 9000). Behind the puppet had been a skull-juggling goblin wearing pink and white clothing (G1/Power: 7000).

Tolby gazed at Irene's field with an uneasy feeling, among her units there was one he remembered seeing recently, more specifically during the dream he had.

_**After adopting a different form, it now resembled a blonde-haired doll with vacant, soulless eyes. **_

It was without a doubt to him that Alice had been the doll he saw during his dream. At first he only thought of it as a coincidence, even if she had been the doll he saw, it did not really mean anything. When another image from his dream flashed across his mind that was when he realized something.

_**At her feet, you notice a woman who had long, flowing hair and displayed a gentle expression.**_

Now that he thought about it, the familiarity he felt from Irene when they first met made sense now since she was the woman from his dream.

"Are you alright?" Snapping out of his trance, he noticed it was Irene's voice that he heard. "Suddenly you began to look really nervous and worried, I was wondering if everything was alright."

"It's nothing, I was only thinking about something," He replied so that she may continue with her move. _"If Ms. Melody and Alice were the figures from my dream, then what does that mean about the outcome of this match…?"_

"Normally, Nitro Juggler and Skull Juggler's effects would activate, allowing me to soul charge one card each, however, I choose not to activate either of those effects," Irene explained.

"Alice with a boost from Midnight Bunny will attack your Vanguard." Similar to before, the bunny girl cheered as energy began to gather around the doll, slowly leaning forward, she reached for the snow maiden (Power: 17000/Critical: 1).

"I guard with Flurry Sprite, and intercept with Hail Striker." With a gentle shower of flurries, a small sprite with a dress seemingly made of snowflakes appeared beside the ice golem, the appearance of the two units frightened the doll as she retracted her hand (Shield: 10000).

"Stopping only one of my attacks will not be enough, Robert with a boost from Starting Presenter will attack your Vanguard." The secondary magician bowed before his superior as energy began to gather around the head magician, removing his hat once more, a purple slime creature partially emerged while charging electricity (Power: 16000/Critical: 1). "What will you do now?" Irene asked with a smile.

"No Guard…" Tolby muttered expecting only the worst.

Just as expected, with a golden shimmer the top card of Irene's deck had been a trigger. "Twin Drive First Check: [Dynamite Juggler – Critical Trigger] I give the extra critical to my Vanguard and I will increase the power of Nitro Juggler." The slime creature's electricity began to intensify (Critical: 2) while the puppet began to cackle menacingly as its test tubes began to overflow (Power: 14000). "Second Check: [Dark Metal Bicorn – No Trigger]" After reaching its capacity the slime unleashed all of its electricity watching as the snow maiden was struck.

Even though Irene's second card had been nothing dangerous, the fact remained that thanks to the trigger, instead of performing a single check Tolby had to perform two. "Damage Check First Check: [Snow Angel – Heal Trigger] I give the power to Yukina…" A faint aura began to shroud the snow maiden slightly healing her from the attack (Power: 15000). This was the second wasted trigger Tolby had obtained, while it was capable of improving his defenses, because the amount of damage he had was three while Irene had four, he could not move a card from his damage zone to the drop zone. "Second Check [Crystal Lancer – No Trigger]" Tolby added the card to his damage zone bringing his total to five.

"Finally, Nitro Juggler with a boost from Skull Juggler will attack your Vanguard." The goblin only continued to juggle its skulls as energy began to gather around the puppet, swiftly taking aim, it flung the test tubes it held between its fingers towards the snow maiden (Power: 21000/Critical: 1).

"I guard with Snow Angel." A ghostly woman appeared in front of the snow maiden shielding her from the attack, she had long, light-blue hair with red eyes, and wore a white flowing gown (Shield: 10000).

"My turn is done," Irene concluded with a smile.

**Field View**

Irene  
Hand: 3 Cards/Soul: 4 Cards/Damage: 4(U)/Drop Zone: 2 Cards/Deck: 31 Cards  
Right Side: Nitro Juggler (G2/Power: 9000) – Skull Juggler (G1/Power: 7000)  
Center: **DI Robert (G3/Power: 10000) **– Starting Presenter (G1/Power: 6000)  
Left Side: ND Alice (G3/Power: 10000) – Midnight Bunny (G1/Power: 7000)

Tolby  
Hand: 3 Cards/Soul: 1 Card/Damage: 3(U)-2(F)/Drop Zone: 5 Cards/Deck: 32 Cards  
Right Side: Crystal Lancer (G2/Power: 10000) – Eternal Pixie (G1/Power: 5000)  
Center: **DotS Yukina (G3/Power: 10000**) – Blizzard Tori (G1/Power: 7000)  
Left Side: Nothing – Nothing

_"So this is it…" _Tolby thought as he drew his card. At this point, he felt there was nothing he could do to prevent what would befall him during Irene's next turn. He knew since was only a demonstration so win or lose, neither truly mattered to begin , despite knowing that, he still felt a desire to win for some reason. It was strange to him since in every match he had against Kotaro, once his defeat seemed obvious he would just accepted it, but this match was different. The thought about Kotaro brought up what he had said earlier before the match began.

"_**I seem to be the only person you play nowadays, you need to go out there and expand your horizon by playing new people. Besides, with how much you were paying attention you might as well help your fellow pupils better understand the game."**_

He silently chuckled to himself after noticing the hidden word's in Kotaro's words. _"So by playing new people I'll learn something new…" _He thought that as he proceeded with his turn, plucking two cards from his hand, he swiftly played them.

"I call Frost Giant and Ice Flower, Maka." On Tolby's field, shards of ice began to cluster together at two points. The first grew into a giant made of ice whose height was on par with doll's, both of its elongated, piston-like arms were embedded into the ground (G3/Power: 10000). The other resembled the dark-haired, azure dressed girl from earlier (G1/Power: 8000)._ "It would appear you were right Kotaro. As long as a single possibility still exists I should take it without backing down,"_ He thought with renewed determination.

Irene noticed something different in Tolby's eyes, within just but a moment they seemed full of determination. _"Despite this only being a demonstration, he seems fully determined to win now," _Irene smiled before adopting a more serious expression of her own. _"I believe it is finally time for me to start taking this match seriously." _

"Crystal Lancer with a boost from Eternal Pixie will attack Nitro Juggler." The snow pixie gave a boastful laugh once more as energy gathered around the ice knight, leaping forward, it made way towards the puppet (Power: 15000).

"_A final gambit, he plans to settle everything once his Vanguard attacks," _Irene thought before smiling, _"Perhaps it would be within my best interest to give him a little assistance."_

Just as Irene thought, Tolby had only one thought in mind and for it to work he had to leave everything up to his twin drive. Unbelievably, two triggers were not entirely, what he was expecting. Of course, getting two triggers would be most beneficial, the possibilities, however, of two appearing seemed a bit too low. Instead, he was hoping for another card to appear along with any of his triggers. However, Irene had other plans as she generously provided another possibility.

"I guard this attack with Dynamite Juggler," Irene responded as an explosion appeared on her field. The cause was a small green goblin dressed in blue and red clothing riding on top of a barrel with a lite fuse. With a chuckle, the goblin kicked the barrel towards the ice knight watching as it exploded upon impact (Shield: 10000).

The fact Irene had guarded this attack came as a shock to Tolby. With the number of cards, she had remaining he felt the logical thing to do would be saving any and everything to defend the Vanguard. He knew she had to be plotting something, but at this point, he could only keep moving forward.

"Yukina with a boost from Blizzard Tori will attack your Vanguard." The snowbird shrieked once again as energy began to gather around the snow maiden, raising her arm, a blizzard was conjured in the direction of the head magician. (Power: 17000/Critical: 1).

"I believe it would be for the best, if this attack had no chance of succeeding," He heard Irene say as she placed a card from her hand into the drop zone, "I perfect guard this attack with Hades Hypnotist." In the path of the blizzard a cloaked figure appeared, raising one of its hands, the blizzard suddenly dispersed (Shield: Null).

"_First she guarded Nitro Juggler, and now she prevented my Vanguard's attack from having any chance of succeeding," _Tolby thought to himself. _"Right now she only has Nitro Juggler so even though this attack was guarded there are still two cards that can allow me to win."_

"_Given the current circumstances of what is revealed, most likely he feels there are two cards that could grant him victory. But in actuality there is really only one card that can lead towards his victory," _Irene thought as Tolby began his twin drive.

"Twin Drive First Check: [Deity of the Snow, Yukina – No Trigger]" To his surprise, this had been the card he was hoping would appear along with a trigger. However, because Irene prevented his Vanguard from having any chance of hitting, this card had now become useless to him.

"Yukina's ability can now be activated because I drive checked a grade 3 Northern Aurora unit. Just like Chione and Blizzard Tori's abilities, your Vanguard loses 3000 Power until the end of this turn." The snow maiden's eye began to shine azure as ice suddenly began to sprout across the head magician's form (Power: 7000).

Tolby then proceeded with his last drive check, which luckily held a golden shimmer. "Second Check: [Radiant Crystal – Stand Trigger] I give both of the effects to Hail Striker." The ice knight rose, ready for battle once more as its lance glistened (Power: 15000).

Tolby had two attacks remaining while Irene had one card to guard with and had four cards in her damage zone. If both of his attacks were successful, that would bring her total damage to six and he would be the winner.

"Crystal Lancer will now attack your Vanguard." The ice knight leapt forward, striking the head magician once he was within range.

"Damage Check: [Barking Cerberus – No Trigger]" Irene placed the card into her damage zone bringing her total to five as well.

With one final attack separating him from victory, he charged forward without hesitation. "Frost Giant with a boost from Maka will end this!" The azure girl closed her eyes as energy began to gather around the ice giant. Slowly lifting one of its arms, it began to descend over the head magician (Power: 18000/Critical: 1).

Irene only silently watched as the attack was heading towards her vanguard. _"After all this time, you are still not at a level capable of defeating me,"_ She thought as the head magician struggled to reach his hat. Failing to reach it, he only succeeded in having it tumble to the ground before him. Suddenly, a shadow emerged from the hat, and raced towards the oncoming attack, halting the advance upon collision.

"What's going?" Tolby exclaimed upon seeing the mysterious shadow halting his attack.

"The moment you attacked my Vanguard, I did not have a single card left in my hand. This allowed me to activate the effect of a particular card." She explained as the shadow's guise started to fade revealing its identity, it had Lark Pigeon halting the final attack.

"A rather situational card to make use of, if the opponent knows about its existence. However, if this effect is left in the dark, it becomes a much easier trick to use," Irene smiled before sliding Nitro Juggler forward. "Though by himself he may not be enough to guarantee my survival, alongside Nitro Juggler, I manage to just survive your final attack." The puppet quickly tossed its test tubes to aid its comrade, the pigeon man dodged just in the nick of time as the explosion knocked back the giant's arm (Shield: 15000).

"It can't be…" Tolby muttered to himself in disbelief as the two units vanished.

"I end my turn…"He muttered concluding his final turn as the ice around the head magician vanished (Power: 10000).

**Field View**

Irene  
Hand: 0 Cards/Soul: 3 Cards/Damage: 5(U)/Drop Zone: 7 Cards/Deck: 30 Cards  
Right Side: Nothing – Skull Juggler (G1/Power: 7000)  
Center: **DI Robert (G3/Power: 10000) **– Starting Presenter (G1/Power: 6000)  
Left Side: ND Alice (G3/Power: 10000) – Midnight Bunny (G1/Power: 7000)

Tolby  
Hand: 4 Cards/Soul: 1 Card/Damage: 3(U)-2(F)/Drop Zone: 5 Cards/Deck: 29 Cards  
Right Side: Crystal Lancer (G2/Power: 10000) – Eternal Pixie (G1/Power: 5000)  
Center: **DotS Yukina (G3/Power: 10000**) – Blizzard Tori (G1/Power: 7000)  
Left Side: Frost Giant (G3/Power: 10000) – IF Maka (G1/Power: 8000)

Tolby glanced at this hand while Irene drew her card. Currently, he had two triggers each with a shield value of 10000, a grade 1, and a grade 3. Adding those together with Crystal Lancer, no matter what Irene drew, as long as her twin drive did not contain a trigger, there was a slim possibility that he would be able to survive the turn.

"_I must apologize if you had any thoughts about survival," _Irene thought as she played her final card. "Beautiful mistress adorned in gold give your command for this performance's finale. Take the Stage, Golden Beast Tamer!" The head magician gave one final bow as smoke shrouded his form, with the crack of a whip, the final performer stood ready. A petite woman dressed in beast tamer attire, she had long, flowing hair that had a golden sheen to it, and the whip she held in her hands was golden in color as well (G3/Power: 10000).

"_Why would she ride a new grade 3 instead of calling it as a rear-guard? Not only would she have three units to attack with but now she can't check what her next card will be," _Tolby thought as she continued.

"Golden Beast Tamer has three effects that can be activated, the first of which allows me to Superior Call one Chimera unit from my soul. I choose to superior call Barking Cerberus." The beast tamer cracked her whip causing a figure to emerge from her shadow. Its form slowly began to change until it resembled the three-headed dog from earlier (G2/10000).

"The second effect of Golden Beast Tamer activates now, normally, Golden Beast Tamer would not be able to attack due to her restraint. However, if I choose to pay the cost of three soul blasts, I can have her outcome this restriction." Plucking the remaining cards from her soul, she placed them into the drop zone. Suddenly, the beast tamer's attire began to shine gold.

"Now for the third and most devastating effect of hers, during my turn, every Pale Moon rear-guard in my front row gains an additional 3000 Power." The beast tamer cracked her whip again as a golden aura began to surround the doll (Power: 13000) and the dog (Power: 13000).

With just one card, Irene eliminated the need for a trigger in order to achieve victory. There was nothing else Tolby could do except hope that a heal trigger would appear.

"Alice with a boost from Midnight Bunny will deal the final blow!" The bunny girl gave one final cheer as the doll's hand slowly began to descend upon the snow maiden.

"No Guard…" He declared as the doll's hand continued its descent, eventually, crushing the snow maiden.

Now that the attack had succeeded, Tolby had no other choice but to proceed with possibly his final damage check. "Damage Check: [Deity of the Snow, Yukina – No Trigger]" With this sixth card added to the damage zone, Irene had been the victor.

As the table retracted down below, the kids began to crowd around Irene praising her for the win. Tolby on the other hand felt upset over the outcome. Despite his best effort, he was powerless to prevent his dream from coming true.

"I should have known I wasn't strong enough to win…" He muttered to himself.

"You shouldn't be so hard on yourself," Kotaro said while giving him a pat on the back, "You gave it your all, and that's what counts."

"Though I did manage to win, in the end it was due to luck on side actually," He heard Irene say.

"But you orchestrated everything so perfectly, you altered the plan I decided on, and then when I got one of the triggers I needed, it was still useless…" He muttered.

"That there is the problem," Irene replied, "There were two factors that led to everything going in my favor. The perfect guard that I had and the stand trigger you revealed. The perfect guard was what allowed me to alter the method you needed to win, however, had you obtained a critical trigger instead of a stand trigger you most certainly would have won. The threat of a stand trigger was only apparent because you did not know what Lark Pigeon was capable of."

Now that Tolby thought about it, Irene was right. Even if his method had proceeded as he planned, with the perfect guard she had, the only trigger that would have been useful was a critical trigger. During the course of his turn, she was trying to show him what he truly needed to win but since he did not know about Lark Pigeon, a second possibility became visible.

"_So even if more than possibility is visible, that does not mean, all of them a viable." _Tolby thought as he smiled to himself.

* * *

_A few hours passed by as the sun was beginning to set over Card Shop Raven. With the demonstration having ended successfully, Tolby and Kotaro ended up helping Irene as she instructed to have their own matches. Of course, Tolby had only Kotaro to thank for volunteering him once again. With the shop now empty due to the departure of the kids, Tolby and Kotaro felt it was time for them to leave as well._

"Thank you once again your assistance," Irene smiled before nodding to the two.

"It was nothing and it was pretty fun," Kotaro replied while glancing at Tolby. "Right, Tolby?"

"I guess it was," He muttered in response.

"The two of you two are always welcomed to Card Shop Raven, so please come again whenever you feel the need to," Irene nodded.

The two bid farewell to Irene and the manager before taking their leave. As they walked a short distance away, Tolby thought about his meeting with Irene and the match they had. The conclusion had been similar to the dream he had and the fact Irene was a part of it seemed odd to him, especially since he could not shake the feeling of having met her before.

~End of Chapter~

* * *

**~Next Chapter~  
**

"Kotaro, here" He happily announced.

"And Tolby…" He added in a sigh.

"We were only gone for like a minute what happened this time?" Kotaro asked concerned.

"Let's see, you forced me into a match against Ms. Melody, you forced me into helping out with the kids, and now this," Tolby replied.

"But we were supposed to give the preview to the next chapter," Kotaro countered.

"_I wonder two people are really necessary for this,"_ Tolby thought to himself.

"Apparently that is not the case if a third had to be included," Irene said.

"Ms. Melody, where did you come from?" Tolby asked.

"Yeah, you wasn't here a moment ago," Kotaro added.

"I am afraid you are mistaken, I was here the entire time, you two were just having so much fun that you did not notice," Irene smiled.

_Next chapter, Tolby seems to be upset over something so Kotaro takes it upon himself to cheer him up by taking him to the Ishiragi library. There the two run into the head director, who apparently is not too thrilled about their visit. While the two have their fun at the library, Irene receives a visit from the last person she would possibly expect._

"According to our memo, I'm the one who gets to fight next chapter." Kotaro said while reading their memos.

"That's a lot sooner than in the other attempt," Tolby noted.

"Perhaps it would be for the best if we do not bring that topic into the light," Irene said.

Next Chapter: Confinement - "The two of you best have a good reason for trespassing into a restricted area."

* * *

**~Card Database~**

Snow Nymph, Chione  
Grade 0/Northern Aurora – Sylph/Power: 5000/Shield: 10000  
Auto: When another «Northern Aurora» rides this unit, you may call this card to a rear-guard circle.  
Auto [R]: [Counterblast (1) & Put this unit into your soul] When an attack hits a Vanguard during the battle that this unit boosted a «Northern Aurora», you may pay the cost. If you do, choose one of your opponent's Vanguards, and that unit gets Power -3000 until end of turn.

Arctic Wolf  
Grade 0/Northern Aurora – High Beast/Power: 5000/Shield: 10000  
Trigger Unit Power +5000, Critical +1

Radiant Crystal  
Grade 0/Northern Aurora – Frostroid/Power: 4000/Shield: 10000  
Trigger Unit Power +5000, Stand  
Skill: Unknown

Flurry Sprite  
Grade 0/Northern Aurora – Sylph/Power: 5000/Shield: 5000  
Trigger Unit +5000 Power, Draw 1

Snow Angel  
Grade 0/Northern Aurora – Angel/Power: 5000/Shield: 10000  
Trigger Unit +5000 Power, Heal  
_(You may only have up to four cards with "HEAL" in a deck.)_

Ice Flower Maka  
Grade 1/Northern Aurora – Frostroid/Power: 8000/Shield: 5000

Blizzard Tori  
Grade 1/Northern Aurora – High Beast/Power: 7000/Shield: 5000  
Auto: [Counterblast (2)] When this unit is placed on the Vanguard or rear-guard circle, if you have a «Northern Aurora» Vanguard, you may pay the cost. If you do, your opponent's Vanguard gets Power -3000 until end of turn.

Eternal Pixie  
Grade 1/Northern Aurora – Sylph/Power: 5000/Shield: 5000  
Auto [R]: [Soul Blast (2)] When this unit is placed on a rear-guard circle, if you have a **«**Northern Aurora**»** Vanguard, you may pay the cost. If you do, draw a card.

Crystal Lancer  
Grade 2/Northern Aurora – Frostroid/Power: 10000/Shield: 5000

Blizzard Mage  
Grade 2/Northern Aurora – Battleroid/Power: 9000/Shield: 5000  
Auto [V/R]: When this unit's attack hits a Vanguard, if you have a «Northern Aurora» Vanguard, choose a card from your damage zone, and turn it face-up.

Hail Striker  
Grade 2/Northern Aurora – insert race /Power: 8000/Shield: 5000  
Auto [V/R]: When this unit attacks, if the opponent's unit has 8000 Power or less, this unit gets Power +3000 until end of that battle.

Deity of the Snow, Yukina  
Grade 3/Northern Aurora – Noble/Power: 10000/Shield: -  
Auto [V]: When this unit's drive checks reveals a grade 3 «Northern Aurora», your opponent's Vanguard gets Power -3000 until end of turn.

Frost Giant  
Grade 3/Northern Aurora – War Beast/Power: 10000/Shield: -  
Skill: Unknown

Crystal Mammoth  
Grade ?/Northern Aurora – High Beast/Power: ?000/Shield: ?  
Skill: Unknown

~ I created the above cards with the help of my friends; anyone is free to use them, I only ask for a credited mention in return. ~


	2. Chapter 2: Confinement

**~Chapter 2: Confinement~**

_It had been a couple of days since Tolby and Kotaro's adventure at Card Shop Raven. During their first and last visit, they had the opportunity of meeting Irene Melody, the sub-manager and teacher of the shop. Without Tolby's consent, Kotaro had managed to force him into a match against Irene as a demonstration for her class. After their clash went on for some time, Irene was the one able to emerge victorious between the two. Now a few days into the present, Kotaro noticed Tolby had seemingly disappeared after that day. Once the first day had gone by and there had been no sign of him, Kotaro assumed he was most likely at home, so he decided to give him some time to himself. Eventually, when Tolby's disappearance had reached the third day, Kotaro felt it was time for a visit to see if everything was okay._

* * *

Kotaro arrived at his destination one very short trip later. He attempted to knock on the door several times, but only continued to find himself patiently waiting outside. The thought of Tolby being asleep suddenly crossed his mind since he did have a habit of oversleeping after all. He felt if he continued to wait patiently, it would only take an eternity for Tolby to wake-up. The thought of waiting an eternity did not seem appealing to him, so he decided it would be for the best to move things along at a faster pace. _"Good thing I saw that documentary, Lock Picking 101." _He reached into his pocket to retrieve a bobby pin before he began to fiddle around with the lock for a bit. Eventually, he succeeded in getting the door open and humbly stepped inside, remembering to close the door behind him.

"_It's surprisingly dark and quiet_," Kotaro thought while looking around. Traveling swiftly but silently, he found himself in front of Tolby's bedroom. Peering inside, he sighed upon noticing Tolby asleep in his bed as expected. Silently stepping inside, he tried poking his face several times in an attempt to wake him, but he only stirred around in response. _"Even though it would be fun to do this all day, I believe it is time for a wake-up call," _Kotaro thought before quickly lifting the mattress.

His actions were proven successful as Tolby uttered an "ouch" slightly cringing in pain upon landing on the ground. After sitting up, he rubbed his eyes while looking around confused as to what had happened. Once he noticed Kotaro and that wide grin of his, everything slowly began to make sense to him as he displayed a mixture of anger and confusion at his friend's burglar like entrance.

* * *

_Knowing that sleep was no longer a possibility, Tolby decided to listen to Kotaro's reason for the unexpected visit. After getting dressed, the two moved to the living room to talk about the past couple of days._

"Besides breaking and entering, what exactly is your reason for disturbing my sleep again?" Tolby asked while sleepily rubbing his eyes. Since his sleep was disturbed recently, he could barely keep his eyes open.

"Can you really consider it breaking and entering? I did attempt to notify you several times about my arrival, you simply chose to ignore them," Kotaro shrugged only to earn a glare from his friend's half-lidded eyes. "The only reason I came here was to see if you was okay, especially since the last time I saw you was a few days ago after all."

"Don't you think you're overreacting a little if we were only apart for a couple of days," Tolby murmured before yawning. "Besides, I was only sleeping, nothing serious happened."

"I'm not so sure about that… Sleeping for three days straight seems pretty serious to me," Kotaro responded. "Are you sure everything is okay?"

Tolby gave it some actual thought, and did notice that it was rather strange. Even if it was normal for him to oversleep, doing so over the course of three days was something different entirely. "I don't think it's anything serious, a lot has been on my mind lately, that's all," Tolby murmured glumly.

Despite what he said, Kotaro felt it had to be something more serious than Tolby was letting on. He began to wonder if anything different had occurred recently, but the only thing he could think of was their visit to Raven. "Could whatever it is that's been on your mind lately involve Ms. Melody?" He suddenly blurted out, based on the surprised reaction Tolby displayed, he had a feeling he was right. "You've already proved that I'm right, so why not tell me what's bothering you?"

"_Perhaps there is no point in hiding it any longer,"_ Tolby thought before he began to explain everything that had been on his mind. He first talked about the dream he had about the woman who resembled Irene and how his dream mirrored the conclusion of their match. In addition to the feeling, that they had met each other before.

"So that explains why you were so interested in her lesson, you were trying to see if you could remember her," Kotaro said after listening to his friend's story. "Then why didn't you ask her directly if the two of you met before? I think that's the only way to put your mind at ease, though you should probably wait until you feel ready."

"_Maybe I should try asking her," _he thought to himself, _"but what if the reason she didn't say anything was due to something I did?"_

"I believe it's finally time," he suddenly heard Kotaro say as he jumped to his feet. Tolby gave him a confused look almost asking if he were leaving already. Kotaro noticed the look and only grinned in response, "I'm not leaving, but we're going to the Ishiragi Library."

* * *

_With that in mind, Kotaro hurriedly dragged Tolby away towards their destination for the day. Now that he understood the reason behind his friend's sudden disappearance, he felt it was necessary to help in any way possible. He figured it would be best to avoid card shops for the day and focus on something a little more relaxing and/or boring. Sometime later, they were now standing out their destination, the Ishiragi Library. _

"Refresh my memory, what exactly are we doing here again?" Tolby asked, now that the two were standing outside of the library.

"We're here to put your mind at ease," Kotaro responded, "I thought it would be best if you didn't focus on vanguard for a while or at least for the day."

"If we're on the same page, then allow me to return to my dream world," Tolby said with a yawn as he began to walk in the opposite direction.

"Not so fast," Kotaro snapped, he grabbed Tolby by the collar and dragged him back in the direction of the library. "We didn't come all this way just so you could runaway back to bed!"

_With their bizarre antics, finally, coming to end, the two now stood inside the library and looked around. The inside had been far larger than expected in comparison from seeing it from outside. A vast quantity of novels lined the shelves as expected but there were a few devices on display as well. In the city of Ishiragi, the library was for more than housing novels, it was also a research facility. There had not been much information pertaining to what they were researching; however, there were rumors that they involved holograms._

_The two had gone around the library for short time, pretty much observing the different devices. That had been Kotaro's limit before he realized how boring it the library was. Tolby on the other hand seemed to be enjoying himself, especially after noticing his friend's boredom. He felt it was only fair to enjoy his suffering after the wake-up call he received earlier._

"I'm glad you are one of the selected few that can get any kind of enjoyment by going to a library," Kotaro sighed after noticing the cheerful expression on his friend's face.

"Honestly, watching you suffer from boredom is more entertaining," Tolby said until he noticed Kotaro had disappeared. He was standing in front of a door that was clearly leading into a restricted area. Beside the door, there had been a panel with a variety of buttons meaning a password was required to open it.

"Perhaps I've just been looking in all the wrong places," he heard Kotaro say before he rapidly began to press buttons in an attempt to the door open. After a few unsuccessful attempts, there was a click before the door began to slide open by itself.

"Now that you've shown your skills at opening electronic locks as well, maybe we should leave before we get into trouble," Tolby said nervously after reaching him.

"I can understand if you want to leave on your own, but I want to know if there is anything more interesting around here." He waved before disappearing beyond the door.

Now that he stood alone, Tolby only sighed as he followed his friend, knowing no amount of good could come from this.

"_It would appear we have a pair of special visitors," _a man thought while watching the security relay.

_The two continued down a long corridor before a door similar to the one from earlier prevented them from proceeding. Kotaro worked his magic on the door causing it to open and reveal a room housing a generator. In comparison to the box-like room, the generator was quite large and took up most of the space. They stepped inside to get a closer look at it, though they could not figure out the purpose of the device, they could tell someone was working on it recently. _

"Well we did find something interesting," Kotaro said after finishing his observations, "I wonder what it's used for?"

"That's something neither of us can figure out, perhaps we should leave now before it's too late," Tolby insisted.

"You worry too much, we looked around nearly everywhere remember? There should hardly be anyone around to know about this," Kotaro shrugged.

"Allow me to express my gratitude for having such interest in our facility, but I'm afraid you should have taken your leave when you had the opportunity," the two suddenly heard a voice come from the entrance. Blocking their only exit was a man who seemed to be a few years older than they were. He glared at the two fiercely with his dark-brown eyes, which matched his spiky hair, and wore a white collared-shirt with brown cargo pants. He also appeared to be wearing an ear piece-like device with a light-blue panel attached, that covered his left eye. "The two of you best have a good reason for trespassing into a restricted area."

"We were only wondering if there were any new devices that weren't on display upstairs," Kotaro shrugged. "Now that you have our reason, why don't you introduce yourself?"

"Such impudence," the man shook his head, "you do not appear to understand the situation that you're in, though I'm more than willing to introduce myself. My name is Seth Anderson, Head Director of this facility."

"Head Director**!**" Tolby and Kotaro exclaimed in unison.

"Trespassing into a restricted area and witnessing something that isn't ready for the general public," he chuckled to himself. "I only wonder what consequences should be delivered."

"Don't you think bringing consequences into this is a little too extreme, I mean, we only just got here, and we don't even know what this device is?" Tolby explained as the man shook his head in response.

"How can I be sure your reason is sound? For all I know, the two of you could be nothing more than thieves," he finished before the panel covering his eye began to flash text across the surface. The device was currently scanning his two visitors, and revealed their identities to him. "Tolby Gale and Kou Taro, I enjoyed our little chat, but I believe it is time you accepted your fate for the crime you committed."

"We'd be more than willing to accept our fate, "Kotaro said much to Tolby's dismay. "However, I would like to request the chance at proving we committed nothing wrong at all. The evidence I have to show for it is a card fight, if you win we'll admit to the crime, but if we win, we all pretend none of this ever happened."

"I can already tell you are not much of a smooth negotiator," Seth chuckled. "However, the thought of risking your freedom over a simple game amuses me, so I'm willing to accept this evidence of yours and the terms behind it. Now, which of you will be my opponent?"

"Well, I'm the one who got us into this mess, so I'll be the one to prove our innocence," Kotaro declared.

"Are you sure about this?" Tolby asked nervously as Kotaro nodded in response.

"Allow me to refresh your memory, the point of today was to get your mind off vanguard for a while, so you just need to have faith in my victory," he grinned.

"_This certainly has led to an interesting development, and the data I gather will be worth it," _Seth thought while he snapped his fingers. Tolby and Kotaro heard a sound from behind them and turned just in time to see the generator release a flash engulfing the room with a blinding light.

_Once their eyes began to adjust, they looked around the surrounding and noticed a drastic change in scenery. Only moments ago were they within the small confines of a room, but now they were standing in the middle of a vast city. The prominent feature of this city had to be the array of flashing lights and signs at every corner. _

"Impressive isn't it," Seth said while a platform appeared before him, a similar one then appeared before Kotaro. "I'm afraid that while you may be curious about our current environment, such details are confidential."

While he said that, Kotaro was observing the table as if he felt something was missing. "Where exactly are the chairs?" He suddenly asked, in response Seth only looked at him dumbfounded for uttering such a question. "Everything does seem impressive," he said while gazing around the city. "But if we're going to play here, shouldn't we have chairs for added convenience," he shrugged.

Seth only remained silent and gazed, not a single thought could explain how he felt about such a person. "Hello, security," he said after pressing a button on his earpiece.

"Okay, we'll play without the chairs!" Kotaro shrieked after hearing who he called.

"_That's what I thought you said," _Seth silently smirked before attending to the receiver of his call. "I would like to commend you on a job well done for keeping out any and all _intruders," _he said putting emphasis on the latter as he gazed at the two before him.

With their antics, finally, at an end, the two were now ready to begin their game. "Stand up, Vanguard!" The two shouted in unison as their units began to take form.

"Enigman Flow" Behind Seth, a colossal figure emerged from a portal, it had beaming, yellow eyes, and green streaks across its silver body (G0/Power: 5000).

"Guiding Zombie" Behind Kotaro, a spirit appeared before shifting in appearance to that of a purple-skinned, elderly butler holding a lantern (G0/Power: 5000).

"_This match up seems rather ironic," _Tolby muttered to himself silently after seeing the deck Seth used.

"How fitting," Seth chuckled, "the ones pleading their innocence would use a Granblue deck, I'm afraid this is not helping your case."

"You'd be surprised, after all, there are moments where people with authority will use their power to falsely accuse others," Kotaro retorted.

Seth smirked at the comment as he silently drew his card taking the first turn. After glancing at the card in his hand, he slightly scowled before choosing a card to play. "I ride Karenroid, Daisy." A portal descended upon the being's form, leaving in its place, a slim, purple android with blades at the ends of its arms (G1/Power: 8000).

"It's your move, Kou Taro," Seth concluded.

**Field View**

Seth  
Hand: 5 Cards/Soul: 1 Card/Damage: 0/Drop Zone: 0 Cards/Deck: 43 Cards  
Right Side: Nothing – Nothing  
Center: **Karenroid Daisy (G1/Power: 8000) **– Nothing  
Left Side: Nothing – Nothing

Kotaro  
Hand: 5 Cards/Soul: 0 Cards/Damage: 0/Drop Zone: 0 Cards/Deck: 44 Cards  
Right Side: Nothing – Nothing  
Center: **Guiding Zombie (G0/Power: 5000**) – Nothing  
Left Side: Nothing – Nothing

"If it would not be too much trouble, could you refer to me as Kotaro, instead?" He asked as he drew his card. "Kou Taro may be my full name, but I like being called Kotaro more," he explained.

"I see, very well," Seth nodded, "if that is what you wish, then I shall refer to you as Kotaro from now on."

"Thanks," Kotaro smiled, "I ride Dandy Guy, Romario." The butler raised his lantern as a spirit emerged from it, its form shifted to that of a blonde, purple-skinned man dressed in a white suit, between his teeth a rose was clenched (G1/Power: 8000).

"Since I rode a Granblue unit, Guiding Zombie's forerunner ability activates, but that's not all, I also call Samurai Spirit." As the butler moved to the left (G0/Power: 5000), a spirit appeared behind him shifting into armor a samurai would wear (G1/Power: 7000).

"Guiding Zombie with Samurai Spirit's power will attack your Vanguard." The armor raised its sword as energy began to gather around the butler, he drifted forward and struck the android with his lantern (Power: 12000/Critical: 1).

"Damage Check: [Enigman Ripple – No Trigger]" Seth slightly twitched once he saw what the card was before placing it into his damage zone.

"Now, Romario will attack your Vanguard." Removing the rose from his teeth, it began to release an eerie crimson light as a giant rose appeared formed around the android (Power: 8000/Critical: 1).

"I won't guard," Seth declared, allowing Kotaro to continue.

"Drive Check: [Chappie the Ghostie – No Trigger]" The rose slowly began to contract around the android's form before bursting into a storm of petals.

"Damage Check [Cosmo Beak – No Trigger]" Seth revealed before placing the second card into his damage zone.

"I'm done," Kotaro concluded.

**Field View**

Seth  
Hand: 5 Cards/Soul: 1 Card/Damage: 2(U)/Drop Zone: 0 Cards/Deck: 41 Cards  
Right Side: Nothing – Nothing  
Center: **Karenroid Daisy (G1/Power: 8000) **– Nothing  
Left Side: Nothing – Nothing

Kotaro  
Hand: 5 Cards/Soul: 0 Cards/Damage: 0/Drop Zone: 0 Cards/Deck: 42 Cards  
Right Side: Nothing – Nothing  
Center: **Dandy Guy Romario (G1/Power: 8000**) – Nothing  
Left Side: Guiding Zombie (G0/Power: 5000) – Samurai Spirit (G1/Power: 7000)

"Draw," Seth declared as he drew his new card, "I ride Enigman Wave." The android's form began to descend into a portal, what rose from it was a blue armored-being with wings (G2/Power: 9000).

"Too bad you couldn't get the right grade 1, otherwise your vanguard would have been at full power," Kotaro mocked.

"Though he may not be at full power, he still fulfills the criteria of being a grade 2," Seth replied, "I now call Glory Maker and Twin Order." Two portals appeared on Seth's field as two figures emerged from them. The first was a pale-blue woman wearing a flowing dress (G1/Power: 6000). The other was a crimson android, it glared forward with its yellow eyes before revealing two beam-katanas (G2/Power: 10000).

"Twin Order will now attack your Vanguard." The crimson android leapt forward, striking the dandy zombie with a cross of its katanas (Power: 10000/Critical: 1).

"Damage Check: [Gust Jinn – No Trigger]" Kotaro revealed before placing the card into his damage zone.

"Next, Enigman Wave will attack your Vanguard with a boost from Glory Maker." The woman closed her eyes as energy began to gather around the armored-being, suddenly, a rifle materialized around its right arm as it took aim (Power: 15000/Critical: 1).

"I guard with Chappie the Ghostie, and that will be all." A chubby ghost dressed like a pirate appeared in front of the dandy zombie (Shield: 10000). "Chappie's ability activates, allowing me to send one Granblue unit from my deck straight to the drop zone." Kotaro quickly skimmed through his deck for the card he wanted before placing it into the drop zone.

"Drive Check: [Justice Cobalt – Critical Trigger]" Though Seth's card held a golden shimmer, he was hesitant over what to do with it.

"_Perfect, I should have three cards in my damage zone by the start of my next turn," _Kotaro thought once he saw the card.

"I increase the power of my vanguard, and give the additional critical to Twin Order." The crimson android's katanas began to gleam red (Critical: 2), while the armored-being's rifle began to radiate (Power: 19000). Now that its attack was capable of succeeding, the armored-being's rifle unleashed a burst of energy, which pierced the chubby ghost's form and struck the dandy zombie.

"Damage Check: [Ruin Shade – No Trigger]" Kotaro grimaced as he placed the second card into his drop zone.

"_The card he placed into his drop zone was Monster Frank, had he obtained three damage this turn, he would have been able to activate its skill," _Seth thought as his turn concluded.

**Field View**

Seth  
Hand: 4 Cards/Soul: 2 Cards/Damage: 2(U)/Drop Zone: 0 Cards/Deck: 39 Cards  
Right Side: Twin Order (G2/Power: 10000) – Nothing  
Center: **Enigman Wave (G2/Power: 9000) **– Glory Maker (G1/Power: 6000)  
Left Side: Nothing – Nothing

Kotaro  
Hand: 4 Cards/Soul: 0 Cards/Damage: 2(U)/Drop Zone: 2 Cards/Deck: 39 Cards  
Right Side: Nothing – Nothing  
Center: **Dandy Guy Romario (G1/Power: 8000**) – Nothing  
Left Side: Guiding Zombie (G0/Power: 5000) – Samurai Spirit (G1/Power: 7000)

_"I should have known better than to expect a simple tactic like that would work. But it was a gamble worth taking with a hand like this…" _Kotaro thought as he drew his card. "I ride Captain Nightmist." The dandy zombie's form began to fade leaving behind its spirit, as it took on a new form, it now resembled a long, dark-haired man dressed in a white shirt, blue vest, and red pants with a sheathed sword at his hip (G2/Power: 8000).

"Next, I call Evil Shade and Commodore Blueblood." Two spirits drifted to Kotaro's field before shifting in appearance. The first was a phantom-like man dressed entirely in purple, and in its right hand was a dagger (G1/Power: 6000). The other was a blonde-haired man dressed in a fashion quite similar to the captain, his red coat draped in shambles while he held a musket (G2/Power: 10000).

"Blueblood will attack your Vanguard." Quickly taking aim, the sharpshooter fired a shot from his musket (Power: 10000/Critical: 1).

"I guard with Army Penguin." In front of the armored-being, a tiny mechanical penguin appeared to block the shot (Shield: 5000).

"Captain Nightmist with Evil Shade's power will attack your Vanguard." The phantom's eyes glowed red as energy began to gather around the captain, leaping forward, he unsheathed his blade and prepared to strike (Power: 14000/Critical: 1).

"I won't guard this time," Seth responded prompting Kotaro to continue.

"Drive Check: [Dancing Cutlass – No Trigger]" With a swipe of his blade, the armored-being was struck by the captain.

"Damage Check: [Army Penguin – Draw Trigger] I increase the power of Twin Order, then I draw a card." A faint aura surrounded the crimson android while Seth added a new card to his hand (Power: 15000).

"_So he would rather take this attack," _Kotaro thought. "Guiding Zombie with Samurai Spirit's power will attack your Vanguard." Similar to before, the armor raised its sword as energy began to gather around the butler, rising his lantern, a torrent of flame shot forward towards the armored-being (Power: 12000/Critical: 1).

"Damage Check: Enigman Storm – No Trigger]" Seth placed the second card into his damage zone.

"I'm done," Kotaro concluded.

**Field View**

Seth  
Hand: 4 Cards/Soul: 2 Cards/Damage: 4(U)/Drop Zone: 1 Card/Deck: 36 Cards  
Right Side: Twin Order (G2/Power: 10000) – Nothing  
Center: **Enigman Wave (G2/Power: 9000) **– Glory Maker (G1/Power: 6000)  
Left Side: Nothing – Nothing

Kotaro  
Hand: 3 Cards/Soul: 1 Card/Damage: 2(U)/Drop Zone: 2 Cards/Deck: 37 Cards  
Right Side: C Blueblood (G2/Power: 10000) – Nothing  
Center: **Captain Nightmist (G2/Power: 8000**) – Evil Shade (G1/Power: 6000)  
Left Side: Guiding Zombie (G0/Power: 5000) – Samurai Spirit (G1/Power: 7000)

"Stand and draw," Seth declared, "I ride Super Dimensional Robo, Daiyusha." A portal appeared overhead and made its descent over the armored-being's form. What stood in its place was a red, white, and blue, towering mecha wielding a sword and star-shaped shield (G3/Power: 10000).

"With the appearance of such a card, I was almost expecting a chant," Kotaro said after witnessing the new unit.

Seth only chuckled to himself and shook his head, "I'm afraid I don't believe in such trivial things, I would rather focus on things of greater importance," he replied before playing two cards from his hand. "I call Cosmo Beak and Karenroid, Daisy." Two portals appeared on Seth's field, one in air, and one on the ground. Emerging from the one in the air was a mechanical eagle with guns aligned on its wings (G2/Power: 8000). On the ground, the slim, purple android appeared with its blades ready (G1/Power: 8000).

"Now, Cosmo Beak's skill activates, paying the cost of two counterblasts, I can increase the power of one of my Dimension Police units, such as my Vanguard." The eagle screeched as a faint aura surrounded the mecha causing its eyes to gleam brightly (Power: 14000/Critical: 2). "I would also like to mention since Daiyusha's power is at least 14000, he gains an additional critical."

"_This is bad," _Tolby began to think, _"With the amount of cards Kotaro has, if Seth gets another Critical Trigger, he might lose…"_

"Moving on, Twin Order will attack Blueblood." Leaping forward, the crimson android struck the sharpshooter with a cross of its katanas (Power: 10000).

"Now, Daiyusha with a boost from Glory Maker will attack your Vanguard, but first Glory Maker's skill activates." Seth glanced at the cards in his damage zone, and noted the four that lined the boundary. "The number of cards in my damage zone is at least four, so Glory Maker's power increases by an additional 4000." A faint aura surrounded the woman as the energy gathered around the mecha, raising its sword, it swiftly swung down to strike the captain (Power: 24000/Critical: 2).

"No Guard," Kotaro declared without hesitation.

"Twin Drive First Check: [Cosmo Roar – No Trigger] Second Check: [Enigman Wave – No Trigger]" With neither of the two cards holding any impact, Tolby and Kotaro felt at ease, but that did not halt the mecha's sword from striking the captain.

"Damage Check First Check: [Samurai Spirit] Second Check [Ruin Shade – No Trigger]" Kotaro quickly revealed the two cards before placing them into his damage zone.

"Finally, Cosmo Beak will attack your Vanguard with a boost from Daisy." The android unleashed a battle cry as energy began to gather around the eagle, with a screech, the eagle unleashed a barrage of lasers and missiles which exploded upon contact with the captain (Power: 16000/Critical: 1).

"Damage Check: [Knight Spirit – Critical Trigger]" Kotaro silently placed the card into his damage zone bringing his total to five.

"It's your move," Seth smirked as his turn concluded.

**Field View**

Seth  
Hand: 4 Cards/Soul: 3 Cards/Damage: 2(U)-2(F)/Drop Zone: 1 Card/Deck: 33 Cards  
Right Side: Twin Order (G2/Power: 10000) – Nothing  
Center: **SDR Daiyusha (G3/Power: 10000) **– Glory Maker (G1/Power: 6000)  
Left Side: Cosmo Beak (G2/Power: 8000) – Karenroid Daisy (G1/Power: 8000)

Kotaro  
Hand: 3 Cards/Soul: 1 Card/Damage: 5(U)/Drop Zone: 3 Cards/Deck: 34 Cards  
Right Side: Nothing – Nothing  
Center: **Captain Nightmist (G2/Power: 8000**) – Evil Shade (G1/Power: 6000)  
Left Side: Guiding Zombie (G0/Power: 5000) – Samurai Spirit (G1/Power: 7000)

_"It seems Mr. Head Director is better than I thought," _Kotaro thought as he drew his card. He then glanced back at Tolby who looked worried about the situation he was in. _"We're only in this mess because of something I did… So it seems I have no other choice, I'll settle everything this turn!"_

"I activate the ability of Monster Frank from my drop zone, paying the cost of three counterblasts, I can superior ride him!" Turning over three cards in his damage zone, Kotaro fetched the card from his drop zone, and swiftly played it. "From the deep abyss your spirit arises! I superior ride Monster Frank!" He recited as the captain shut his eyes as his form faded leaving behind his spirit, it began to shift in appearance now resembling a hulking man in a yellow vest and tattered purple pants with shackles around his wrists (G3/Power: 10000).

"Next, I call another Commodore Blueblood and Dancing Cutlass." Two spirits drifted to Kotaro's field before shifting in appearance. The first resembled the sharpshooter from only a short while ago (G2/Power: 10000). The other resembled a red and yellow sword with ghastly eyes (G1/Power: 5000).

"Dancing Cutlass' ability activates, with a soul blast of two, I can draw a card." Moving the only two cards in his soul to the drop zone, Kotaro then drew another card.

"Next, I activate the ability of the Captain Nightmist in my drop zone, by sacrificing both Samurai Spirit and a counterblast, I can resurrect him. Then I activate the ability of my Samurai Spirit, by sacrificing both Guiding Zombie and a counterblast, I can resurrect it as well." The armor's form faded before shifting into the appearance of the captain (G2/Power: 8000) while the butler's form faded this time taking the form of the samurai armor (G1/Power: 7000).

"_Despite all the damage he's taken by this point, he's utilized them to optimize the potential of his field," _Seth thought.

"Blueblood with Dancing Cutlass' power will attack your Vanguard." The ghastly sword flared as energy began to gather around the sharpshooter while he took aim (Power: 15000/Critical: 1).

"I guard with Cobalt Justice." Before the mecha, a blue being with a demonic expression appeared (Shield: 10000).

"Monster Frank with Evil Shade's power will attack your Vanguard, but not before Evil Shade's ability activates. Sending the top two cards of my deck to the drop zone gives Evil Shade 4000 more Power." A dark aura surrounded the phantom as energy gathered around the hulking man, he then slowly began to make way towards the mecha (Power: 20000/Critical: 1).

"I won't guard this attack," Seth declared after giving his hand a glance.

Kotaro did not bother to question his decision and continued with his twin drive. "Twin Drive First Check: [Dandy Guy Romario – No Trigger]" The first card did not hold any impact, but that did not stop his advance. "Second Check [Skeleton Lookout – Stand Trigger] I boost the power of Captain Nightmist and Blueblood stands!" A faint aura shrouded the captain (Power: 13000) while the sharpshooter rose ready for its next target. Upon reaching the mecha, the hulking man delivered a devastating punch to its chest.

"Damage Check [Masked Police, Grander – No Trigger]" Seth revealed bringing his total damage to five as well.

"_If one more attack succeeds Kotaro will win," _Tolby thought happily.

"Blueblood will attack your Vanguard once again." The sharpshooter fired another shot in the direction of the mecha (Power: 10000).

"I guard with Cosmo Roar." Shielding his attack this time had been mechanical saber-tooth tiger (Shield: 5000).

"Captain Nightmist with Samurai Spirit's power will attack your Vanguard." The armor raised its sword once more as energy began to gather around the captain, leaping forward, he prepared his blade (Power: 20000/Critical: 1).

"I guard with another Cobalt Justice and Enigman Wave." In the path of the captain, another demonic-being appeared alongside the blue armored-being (Shield: 15000).

"I'm done," Kotaro murmured, concluding his turn.

**Field View**

Seth  
Hand: 0 Cards/Soul: 3 Cards/Damage: 3(U)-2(F)/Drop Zone: 5 Cards/Deck: 32 Cards  
Right Side: Twin Order (G2/Power: 10000) – Nothing  
Center: **SDR Daiyusha (G3/Power: 10000) **– Glory Maker (G1/Power: 6000)  
Left Side: Cosmo Beak (G2/Power: 8000) – Karenroid Daisy (G1/Power: 8000)

Kotaro  
Hand: 5 Cards/Soul: 0 Cards/Damage: 5(F)/Drop Zone: 6 Cards/Deck: 28 Cards  
Right Side: C Blueblood (G2/Power: 10000) – Dancing Cutlass (G1/Power: 5000)  
Center: **Monster Frank (G3/Power: 10000**) – Evil Shade (G1/Power: 6000)  
Left Side: Captain Nightmist (G2/Power: 8000) – Samurai Spirit (G1/Power: 7000)

"_What a shame," _Seth thought while he drew his card. _"Had he obtained a critical or heal trigger, he just may have been able to win in the long run."_

"I'm sorry to say Kotaro, but all good things must come to an end." He declared.

Kotaro only looked at him confused by the sudden statement. "You make it sound like the match is already over," he replied before holding up his hand, "I still have five cards, and two of my units are capable of intercepting."

"You may have quantity, but I wonder about the quality of all the cards you currently hold, more precisely, their total shield value." Seth replied as Kotaro began to grit his teeth. "If I had to guess, your hand should barely contain any cards with a shield value greater than 5000, this is why you allowed so many of my attacks to succeed." He then called a unit to his final vacant space. "Though this is only a theory, I'm more than willing to test it." Descending from a portal in the air had been another mechanical eagle (G2/Power: 8000).

"I activate Cosmo Beak's skill, after paying its cost, I'm allowed to increase the power of one unit by 4000 once again, and this time, I choose my other Cosmo Beak." The secondary eagle screeched as a faint aura shrouded the first (Power: 12000).

"_Damn," _Kotaro thought while glancing at his hand. Between the five cards in his hand and the two on his field, his total shield value was only 40000, if Seth managed to obtain just one trigger, everything would be over for him.

"Twin Order will attack your Vanguard." The crimson android leapt forward ready to strike the hulking man (Power: 10000/Critical: 1).

"Captain Nightmist intercepts!" Just as the android was about to strike, the captain intercepted the attack, clashing swords in the process (Shield: 5000).

"Proceeding, Daiyusha will attack your Vanguard with a boost from Glory Maker, but please, don't forget about her additional power." The woman closed her eyes as energy began to gather around the mecha, raising its sword, it was ready to strike down its opponent (Power: 20000/Critical: 1).

"I guard with Skeleton Lookout and Dandy Guy Romario!" The dandy zombie appeared once more, only this time he was accompanied by a skeleton dressed in tattered clothing holding a telescope (Shield: 15000).

"_All Kotaro needs to do is survive this attack…" _Tolby thought as he watched Seth begin his twin drive.

"Twin Drive First Check: [Enigman Storm – No Trigger]" The first card allowed Kotaro to feel at ease, if the next card were a dud as well he would be able to survive. However, all thought disappeared once he saw the golden radiance of Seth's second card. "Second Check: [Justice Rose – Heal Trigger] I increase power of my vanguard, then I heal one point of damage." Placing a card from his damage zone into his drop zone, the mecha's eyes were set ablaze as burning aura shrouded its form, swinging down its sword, it struck the hulking man along with his two guards dealing the final blow (Power: 25000).

"Damage Check: [Monster Frank – No Trigger] I lose…" Kotaro murmured as he placed the sixth card into his damage zone.

"I'm sorry say, but your evidence was not good enough to prove your innocence," Seth said as the city began to vanish and the three found themselves back in the room they had been in previously. His opponent displayed a gloomy expression while his friend seemed to comfort him by his side. "As per our agreement, I believe I have found the perfect punishment for the two of you."

"I'm sorry, Tolby" Kotaro continued to murmur as he looked down in defeat. In his world, time seemed to have stopped and everything had even lost its color. If only he had managed to survive long enough to reach his next turn, then things may have ended differently. "If only I didn't let my curiosity get the better of me, we wouldn't be in this mess."

After watching Kotaro's current state, Tolby felt like the two of them made an exchange one point. Earlier, he had been the one depressed while Kotaro was trying to cheer him up, but he was not sure how to attempt the same in this kind of situation. "You tried your best, and luck wasn't on your side," was all he could find to say.

"Are the two of you prepared for your punishment?" Seth asked as the two dreadfully nodded in response. "Very well, now the two of you, please be on your way out of here."

"Huh," The two repeated in unison surprised by Seth's sudden action.

"You've already paid your debt to society by providing me with useful data, so I'm willing to look the other way. Besides, the two of you lack many qualities to be of any real threat to our research," he smirked.

The world seemed to resume around Kotaro, as his anger about the falsified situation peaked. "You mean to tell me all this time I nothing more than a guinea pig**!**" He shrieked after hearing Seth's words.

"You have all the time in world to be angry elsewhere, now let's leave before he changes his mind," Tolby sighed as he quickly dragged him away.

"_I should almost be grateful that Kotaro stepped up as my opponent," _Seth thought as he watched the two flee._ "Based on the readings I obtained from the two of them, things may have been much worse if Tolby had been my opponent."_

* * *

_A few hours later, the sun was beginning to set over Ishiragi. Irene was currently sitting outside of a café after a hard day's work. She began to think about Tolby and his friend, especially since it had been a few days since she had last seen them. She wondered if the two had been okay after their almost sudden disappearances. While she was lost in thought, she did not seem to notice the familiar figure looming before her._

"Excuse me madam," She suddenly heard. "But is this seat taken?" Without glancing at the figure, she could recall having heard someone similar before, but she could not directly identify his voice.

"Please, be my guest," she smiled in response before noticing whom it was that was standing before her. The smile she displayed quickly disappeared, and its place, her eyes displayed shock instead. A dark-haired man wearing a trench coat that shrouded his form, he had piercing crimson eyes, which he closed before displaying a friendly smile. _"Of all the people in the world, what is he doing here__!_"

"It certainly has been a while hasn't it, Irene Melody," he said while taking the seat she offered to him.

"What are you doing here…?" Irene asked while she was still recovering from the mental shock.

"Hmm…" The man responded as if he really had to think about the question. "I was only passing through when I heard an interesting tidbit of information," he smiled. "According to my sources you had a match against Tolby recently. I was wondering how true the credibility of this was?"

Irene took some time to consider whether she should answer his question, but she knew there would be no point in lying if he already knew. "Whoever you received this information from was correct, I did face him." She replied.

"When I heard the two of you had faced each other I did not want to know the outcome until I asked you personally, though I can already guess you were the one to emerge victorious," he smiled before frowning. "Though it is a shame, after he woke up all of his memories about the four of us seemed to have just disappeared."

An image flashed across Irene's mind at his mention of the four of them, the thought made her slightly agitated. "I am sorry but I have already learned that he does not remember anything and I know you did not come here to reminisce about the past, so tell me why you are here, because I won't ask a third time." She said in firm tone as her blue eyes glared into his.

"It saddens me that after all this time two friends can't catch up on old times, but if you insist," the man smiled before placing a flyer and a letter on the table.

Irene shortly glanced at the two items before she picked them up. The flyer was promoting the National Tournament that would take place within a few weeks. After finishing with the flyer, she opened the letter and saw that it contained a signed invitation to participate in the Nationals. "Fame and fortune are two things that I do not desire in this world, so if this is all you wished to discuss then you have only wasted my time."

"You make it seem like I don't know you at all," he chuckled. "Recently I was appointed as a tournament organizer, you couldn't even begin to imagine the excitement I felt. Then after I heard you were in Ishiragi, I thought maybe we could discuss the possibilities of a wager?" He explained happily.

After listening to his words and seeing his now cheerful exposition, Irene was slowly beginning to reach her limit. "Of all the things to request of me, after what you have done, what makes you think I would accept this wager of yours?" She responded with venom in her voice.

"Simple, if there is nothing in this world that you desire, then how about something not of this world," he replied happily. He had come to her this day with one goal and one goal only, and he knew he had the trump card necessary to achieve it. "If by chance you were able to emerge victorious in this tournament, you would be reunited with Claire, and I know just how much you desired such a thing, especially after all this time."

The anger Irene felt towards him suddenly disappeared once he uttered those words. The world's flow stopped as the name continued to echo throughout her mind along with an image. She quickly shook her head in an attempt to erase the image, but she was not succeeding. _"He's lying…" _She constantly repeated to herself in an attempt to find the strength needed to deny his wager.

The man noticed the current state Irene was in, and only smiled, as he stood ready to leave. "After all this time the sudden mention of her name should come as a shock, so I can understand if you are unable to answer right away. You have until the day of Nationals to give me your answer, and at that time I will reveal what will happen should you lose our little wager." The man explained as he silently walked away leaving her to herself.

As the sun completed its descent and darkness filled the sky, a lone street light shined down upon Irene. She continued to deny the possibilities of his words, it was impossible for her to have any chance of seeing Claire again. The reason for her doubt was a day long ago, the day Claire supposedly left this world.

~End of Chapter~

* * *

**~Next Chapter~**

"Seth" He announced.

"And Kotaro" He added.

"Hey Seth, where are Tolby, Irene, and that mystery guy?" Kotaro asked as Seth only shook his head in response.

"I'm afraid I do not know where any of them are, nor do I really care for that matter, the two of us are here, that should be enough," Seth replied.

"But we were supposed to give the preview as one big happy group," Kotaro pouted.

"With that ending, happy is the last thing imaginable right about now," Seth retorted.

"I guess you're right," Kotaro sighed, "though I do wonder just what kind of connection Tolby has with Irene and that guy."

"I'm sure everything will be revealed in the near future, as for the present we have a job to do," Seth stated.

_Next chapter, Irene begins to wonder about the truth behind the conversation she had with our mystery guest. Meanwhile, a new face arrives within the city of Ishiragi, and Irene sets her sights on recruiting him for the upcoming tournament. In a test of skill between an unfamiliar face and a frequent visitor, will Irene become one-step closer to her newly acquired goal?_

"So it seems after hearing about this Claire person, Irene decided to accept the wager after all," Kotaro said as he mulled it over.

"It appears so, though I wonder just what happens if she fails to win," Seth pondered.

Next Chapter: Invitation – "I am sorry to say, but no is an answer I cannot accept."


End file.
